Archive

1941

“Things were quiet all week in New York. Nothing was popping. There were no big time murders, no roasts (people burned to death at tenement house fires) and no dry divers (people jumping out of windows and off ledges) for me to photograph. So I thought I would go to Washington and do a picture story on what goes on there.

I went on the poor man’s Pullman. I was in no hurry and besides on a bus you can always meet a nice little cutie to keep you company and hold hands with.

At the bus terminal on West 50th St., in the basement, sandwiched in between two doors was an automatic photo machine. I dropped a dime in and had my photo taken. I got the photo in about two minutes. This was the first time I received a mechanical insult…

Inside the juke box was going strong with the Andrews Sisters singing Johnny Peddler… As we left the place the Andrews Sisters in a whiz-bang finale gave everything they had with Beat Me Daddy Eight to a Bar assisted by Woody Herman on Decca record No. 3454…

The Madam then read my palm, asked me the date of my birth, told me I was born under the sign of Cancer, was a very determined person, fickle, but has a kind heart and could make some woman very happy…

The Madam’s crack about me being a salesman reminded me that I was in Washington to do a picture story… so I jumped in a taxi and in an hour made some…

(This may not be the most important thing in this amazing full page of a NY Police Reporter’s Impressions of Washington DC., but the Weegeeweegeeweegee fact checking department spotted a potential discrepancy, if Weegee heard the Andrews Sisters sing Beat Me Daddy, Eight to a Bar it was probably not Decca 3454 B, it was probably Decca 3375 B, that Weegee heard on the juke box 78 years ago… again, not the most important thing…)

PM, March 2, 1941The Art Students Hold Their Annual Party… But Is It Art?
Miss Babita, that’s the whole name, is a well known psychic, her friends said. The sign may indicate some of her friends aren’t.

This is a mermaid costume that won first prize, a bagful of money which she didn’t count. The winner in the costume is Renee Parsons.

She graced the annual ball of the Art Students’ League at the Commodore Friday night and she is Natalia Munez.PM photos by Weegee

PM, December 10, 1941
“New York Has Its First Air-Raid Alarms, But the Enemy Fails to Make Appearance
A million schoolchildren were evacuated from their classrooms yesterday as New York had two air-raid alarms – the first of the war. These pupils at PS 23 on Hester Street looked on the whole procedure as a kind of game. The alarm found most New Yorkers calm, but left then puzzled as to what it was all about. There is one theory that somebody mistook American planes for the enemy; another holds that it was a staged dress rehearsal. The Army denied the latter theory. Whatever the cause, we needed the practice. PM Photo by Weegee“

A Weegee Map!

A map of locations in New York City where Weegee worked, made photographs, lived and loved... organized geographically... downtown to uptown to the outer boroughs and ending at Coney Island... and/or Jersey City...
(An experiment and work in progress.)